title: In vivo performance of a drug-eluting contact lens to treat glaucoma for a month.
abstract: For nearly half a century, contact lenses have been proposed as a means of ocular drug delivery, but achieving controlled drug release has been a significant challenge. We have developed a drug-eluting contact lens designed for prolonged delivery of latanoprost for the treatment of glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Latanoprost-eluting contact lenses were created by encapsulating latanoprost-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) films in methafilcon by ultraviolet light polymerization. In vitro and in vivo studies showed an early burst of drug release followed by sustained release for one month. Contact lenses containing thicker drug-polymer films demonstrated released a greater amount of drug after the initial burst. In vivo, single contact lenses were able to achieve, for at least one month, latanoprost concentrations in the aqueous humor that were comparable to those achieved with topical latanoprost solution, the current first-line treatment for glaucoma. The lenses appeared safe in cell culture and animal studies. This contact lens design can potentially be used as a treatment for glaucoma and as a platform for other ocular drug delivery applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA 02114, USA; David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Building 76-66, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery, Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Critical Care Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ciolino
authors.forename: Cristina F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Stefanescu
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Borja
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Salvador-Culla
authors.forename: Priscila
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cortez
authors.forename: Eden M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.forename: Kate A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Wymbs
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sprague
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Mascoop
authors.forename: Shireen S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rudina
authors.forename: Sunia A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Trauger
authors.forename: Fabiano
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cade
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kohane
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003261:Contact Lenses; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004355:Drug Stability; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D000077338:Latanoprost; D011461:Prostaglandins F, Synthetic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D011461:Prostaglandins F, Synthetic; D000077338:Latanoprost
keywords: Contact lens; Drug delivery; Glaucoma; Latanoprost; Ocular release; Sustained release